KARYON

 Dictionary entry overview: What does karyon mean? 

• KARYON (noun)
  The noun KARYON has 1 sense:

1. a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction

  Familiarity information: KARYON used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KARYON (noun)

Meaning:

A part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

cell nucleus; karyon; nucleus

Hypernyms ("karyon" is a kind of...):

cell organ; cell organelle; organelle (a specialized part of a cell; analogous to an organ)

Meronyms (parts of "karyon"):

nucleole; nucleolus (a small round body of protein in a cell nucleus; such organelles contain RNA and are involved in protein synthesis)

chromatin; chromatin granule (the readily stainable substance of a cell nucleus consisting of DNA and RNA and various proteins; during mitotic division it condenses into chromosomes)

achromatin (the part of a cell nucleus that is relatively uncolored by stains or dyes)

linin (an obsolete term for the network of viscous material in the cell nucleus on which the chromatin granules were thought to be suspended)

chromosome (a threadlike body in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order)

Meronyms (substance of "karyon"):

karyoplasm; nucleoplasm (the protoplasm that constitutes the nucleus of a cell)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "karyon"):

pronucleus (the nucleus of the ovum or sperm after fertilization but before they fuse to form the nucleus of the zygote)

subthalamic nucleus (an oval mass of grey matter located in the caudal part of the subthalamus; associated with the striate body)

Holonyms ("karyon" is a part of...):

cell ((biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals)